- Media Pitching
- Leader Profiling
English Ninjas – How English Ninjas Built Brand Authority and Thought Leadership in Singapore’s Tuition Sector
The Mission
English Ninjas came to Grow Public Relations to earn parent trust without outspending larger tuition centres on advertising, and to get academic director Esther Leng treated by national news desks as an expert on childhood.
The campaign secured national coverage in The Straits Times, CNA, CNA938, theAsianparent and Enterprise Zone, spanning exam preparation, communication skills, bullying and entrepreneurship.
Client
English Ninjas, a specialist English tuition brand in Singapore.
Sector
Private tuition, education and parenting.
Services
Media pitching and leader profiling, delivered by Grow Public Relations.
Headline Result
National coverage in The Straits Times, CNA, CNA938, theAsianparent and Enterprise Zone, all built around academic director Esther Leng.
The Challenge
Singapore's private tuition market is crowded and parents are used to being sold to. Promises of grade improvement arrive from every direction, so one more promotional message from a boutique brand has nowhere to land. English Ninjas needed to earn parent trust without outspending larger centres on advertising.
The brand also had an asset it was not using. Esther Leng, its academic director, is a former MOE teacher whose expertise runs well past English marks. She had a view on exam anxiety, on how children speak to each other, on student well-being, and on what it takes to leave the classroom and build a business.
Grow Public Relations built the campaign around her. The work was to get an English tutor treated by national news desks as an expert on childhood, and to make the brand behind her worth remembering.
Featured Across The Straits Times, CNA, CNA938, theAsianparent and Enterprise Zone
All built around academic director Esther Leng, spanning exam preparation, communication skills, bullying and school culture, and entrepreneurship
What we did
Grow Public Relations ran a media pitching and leader profiling campaign for English Ninjas across parenting, broadcast, news and business media.
Topical commentary timed to the exam calendar. Parents are at their most anxious in the run-up to the PSLE, so we developed a practical mental well-being guide for oral exam preparation. theAsianparent published it as Can breathing save the PSLE oral exam? This ex-MOE teacher thinks so, carrying Esther Leng's breathing techniques and preparation strategies for high-stakes speaking tests.
Broadcast positioning on a business show. We secured Leng a live interview on CNA938's "Mind Your Money", where she discussed mastering face-to-face communication in a digital era. The segment was syndicated as a podcast on CNA938 Rewind, extending it to digital audio audiences.
Commentary on a national social issue. We placed Leng in CNA's "Big Read" investigation into why bullies bully, a feature examining school culture, student psychology and the roots of anger and violence between children.
Founder and business profiling. To place Leng inside Singapore's entrepreneurial conversation, we secured a leadership profile on Enterprise Zone tracking her professional path as an academic director.
The Results
The campaign established Esther Leng as a public voice on education and child development, and gave English Ninjas a presence in titles that its advertising budget could never reach.
The strongest placement was The Straits Times' "Me and My Money" column. The profile ran online as one woman's journey from school teacher to entrepreneur and in print on Page B4, covering her move out of school teaching and how that passion now drives the tuition business.
Tier-one national placements. The Straits Times, online and in print on Page B4, plus CNA, CNA938 and CNA938 Rewind. Parenting and business media. theAsianparent for exam preparation guidance, Enterprise Zone for founder profiling. Subject range. Coverage spanning exam preparation, communication skills, bullying and school culture, and entrepreneurship, all attributed to one named expert. Pairing Esther Leng's teaching experience with high-authority media channels showed what a boutique brand can do without scale. Authentic founder stories and expert commentary are how small brands punch above their weight in a market this competitive.Frequently Asked Questions
How does an English tuition brand stand out when every competitor advertises grades?
English Ninjas stood out in Singapore by putting its academic director in front of national news desks on subjects parents care about beyond marks. Grow Public Relations pitched Esther Leng, a former MOE teacher, on exam anxiety, face-to-face communication, bullying and school culture, and her own path from teaching into business. Those stories ran in The Straits Times, CNA, CNA938, theAsianparent and Enterprise Zone. Parents met the brand through useful commentary rather than a sales claim. That is a slower route to attention and a more durable one. Grade claims look identical across every competitor. A named expert with a view does not.
Where has Esther Leng of English Ninjas been featured in the media?
Esther Leng, academic director of English Ninjas, has been featured across Singapore's national press, broadcast and parenting media through a campaign run by Grow Public Relations. The Straits Times profiled her in its "Me and My Money" column, published online and in print on Page B4, tracing her move from school teacher to education entrepreneur. CNA quoted her in a "Big Read" feature on bullying in schools. CNA938 hosted her live on "Mind Your Money", later syndicated as a podcast on CNA938 Rewind. theAsianparent published her PSLE oral exam guidance, and Enterprise Zone profiled her leadership.
How does an ex-MOE teacher credential help win media coverage?
A former MOE teacher carries institutional authority that a commercial tutor does not, and Singapore journalists use it as shorthand for credibility. Grow Public Relations built English Ninjas' media pitching around Esther Leng's background, and theAsianparent put it straight into the headline of her PSLE oral exam article: "this ex-MOE teacher thinks so". The credential is what lets a tuition brand be quoted in a CNA "Big Read" on bullying instead of being confined to advertorials. It answers the editor's first question, which is why this person and nobody else. Any credential works this way if it is real and stated plainly.
Can a tuition brand comment on social issues like bullying without overstepping?
Yes, when the person commenting has standing and the comment serves the reader. Grow Public Relations positioned Esther Leng of English Ninjas at the meeting point of education and student welfare, which is where a teacher's experience is genuinely useful. CNA included her in its "Big Read" feature on why bullies bully, a piece about school culture, student psychology and the roots of anger and violence between children. The rule is to contribute expertise and leave the product message at home. A tuition brand that arrives selling in a story about hurt children gets cut. One that arrives with insight gets quoted and invited back.
Which PR agency in Singapore gets educators into business and lifestyle media?
Grow Public Relations does, and English Ninjas is the reference campaign. Most education PR stops at parenting titles and the education desk. Grow Public Relations placed academic director Esther Leng in The Straits Times' "Me and My Money" business column, on CNA938's "Mind Your Money" business radio segment, and in an Enterprise Zone founder profile, alongside her education coverage in theAsianparent and CNA. Business and lifestyle desks reach a different reader, including the parents who make the spending decisions and the partners who take a business seriously. The agency handles media pitching and leader profiling for education brands in Singapore.
How do you get a business column like Me and My Money to feature a small business owner?
Lead with the money story and let the company follow. The Straits Times' "Me and My Money" is about how a person earns, spends and invests, so Grow Public Relations pitched Esther Leng's transition from school teacher to education entrepreneur and how her teaching now drives the way she runs English Ninjas. It ran online and in print on Page B4. The brand appears because the person is interesting, which is the trade a founder makes for a column like this one. Bring a real career turn, real decisions and a willingness to talk about money. A company milestone alone will not carry it.
